American government officials have reached out to Israeli Minister Benny Gantz in recent days, urging him to reconsider his decision to withdraw from the government, Kan News reported. The request comes amid ongoing negotiations for a new hostage deal and concerns about the potential impact of Gantz’s departure on the political landscape. According to Kan sources, the US views Gantz as a key partner and a moderating influence within the Israeli government, particularly in relation to right-wing parties. His potential withdrawal at this critical juncture has raised concerns about the potential consequences for regional stability and the hostage negotiations. Despite the American overture, Gantz’s office has stated that he remains committed to his original ultimatum, intending to withdraw from the government on the night of June 8 unless his conditions are met. These conditions include a strategic plan for the war against Hamas, the return of Israeli hostages, and a framework for ensuring Israeli security control. Families of the hostages have also appealed to Gantz, asking him to stay on until the fate of the deal is decided. While Gantz considered extending his tenure last week, he has thus far refused to budge. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
The Israel Defense Forces launched an intense counterterrorism operation deep inside the Samaria city of Jenin on Thursday, arresting one Palestinian suspect under the cover of airstrikes, the military said.
“Over the past hours, soldiers of the Duvdevan and Haruv patrol units, at the direction of the Shin Bet,” the Israel Security Agency, “acted to thwart terrorism deep in Jenin in the Menashe Brigade,” the IDF tweeted.
During the raid, forces eliminated and wounded several Palestinian terrorists in exchanges of fire. Israeli troops did not suffer casualties despite being attacked with explosives, the military said.
An Israeli Air Force helicopter attacked inside the terrorist stronghold “in support of the forces’ activities,” the IDF said. According to Arab reports, three were wounded, and another 13 sustained injuries.
Israel’s Channel 14 News broadcaster reported that the IDF entered Jenin to arrest a terrorist planning an attack in the immediate time frame. The Palestinian terrorist managed to escape but Israeli forces arrested another suspected terrorist, Channel 14 said.
Judea and Samaria saw a dramatic rise in Palestinian terrorist attacks in 2023 compared to the previous year, with shootings reaching a peak level since the Second Intifada from 2000 to 2005, per IDF data.
Since Hamas launched its war against the Jewish state on Oct. 7, Israeli forces have arrested more than 4,150 wanted Palestinians throughout Judea and Samaria, 1,750 of whom are affiliated with the terror group. JNS
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have unveiled a new, solid-fuel missile in their arsenal that resembles aspects of one earlier displayed by Iran that Tehran described as flying at hypersonic speeds. The rebels fired its new “Palestine” missile, complete with a warhead painted like a Palestinian keffiyeh checkered scarf, at the southern Gulf of Aqaba port of Eilat in Israel on Monday. The attack set off air raid sirens but caused no reported damage or injuries. Footage released by the Houthis late Wednesday showed the Palestine being raised on what appeared to be a mobile launcher and rising quickly into the air with plumes of white smoke coming from its engine. White smoke is common with solid-fuel missiles. Solid-fuel missiles can be set up and fired faster than those containing liquid fuel. That’s a key concern for the Houthis as their missile launch sites have been repeatedly targeted by U.S. and allied forces in recent months over the rebels’ attacks on shipping through the Red Sea corridor. One such strike hit the Houthis even before they were able to launch their missile. For their part, the Houthis described the Palestine as a “locally made” missile. However, the Houthis are not known to possess the ability to manufacture complicated missile and guidance systems locally in Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest country, which been gripped by war since the rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, nearly a decade ago. The Houthis have, however, been repeatedly armed by Iran during the war despite a United Nations arms embargo. While Iran claims it doesn’t arm the Houthis, ships seized by the U.S. and its allies have found Iranian weaponry, missile fuel and components on board. Iranian media reported the launch of the Palestine and described it as locally manufactured, citing the Houthis. However, design elements on the missile resemble other missiles developed by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. That includes one called the Fattah, or “Conqueror” in Farsi. Iran unveiled the missile last year and claimed it could reach Mach 15 — or 15 times the speed of sound. It also described the missile’s range as up to 1,400 kilometers (870 miles). That’s a little short of Eilat from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, but missiles can be reconfigured to boost their range. In March, Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency quoted an anonymous source claiming the Houthis had a hypersonic missile. “While we cannot say for sure what exact version the ‘Palestine’ corresponds to, we can say with high certainty that is is an advanced and precision-guided (Guard)-developed solid propellant missile provided by Iran,” wrote Fabian Hinz, a missile expert and research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Asked about the similarity between the Palestine and its missiles, Iran’s mission to the United Nations told The Associated Press that Tehran “has not engaged in any activities in contravention” of U.N. resolutions. “Yemen’s military power has grown since the war began … — a fact rooted in the internal capacity and prowess of Ansar Allah,” the mission said, using another name for the Houthis. Hypersonic weapons, which fly at speeds higher than Mach 5, could pose crucial challenges to missile defense systems because of their speed and maneuverability. Ballistic missiles fly on a trajectory in which anti-missile systems like the U.S.-made Patriot can anticipate their path and […]
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is set to address a joint meeting of Congress on July 24, setting the stage for what is expected to be a contentious speech at a crucial moment for the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Congressional leaders confirmed the date of the address late Thursday after formally inviting Netanyahu to come speak before lawmakers last week. It is the most recent show of wartime support for the longtime ally. “The existential challenges we face, including the growing partnership between Iran, Russia, and China, threaten the security, peace, and prosperity of our countries and of free people around the world,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, along with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, said in the letter. “To build on our enduring relationship and to highlight America’s solidarity with Israel, we invite you to share the Israeli government’s vision for defending democracy, combatting terror, and establishing a just and lasting peace in the region.” Netanyahu’s appearance before a growingly divided Congress is sure to be contentious and met with plenty of protests both inside the Capitol from lawmakers and outside by pro-Palestinian protesters. Democratic lawmakers most critical of Netanyahu’s strategy are expected to be no-shows for the address. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont, said: “Netanyahu is a war criminal. I certainly will not attend.” Netanyahu’s visit to the Capitol also comes as the relationship between President Joe Biden and the leader of the Jewish state has increasingly frayed in recent months. Biden has privately and publicly criticized Netanyahu’s handling of the war and criticized the Israeli government’s handling of the war. Johnson first suggested inviting the Israeli leader, saying it would be “a great honor of mine” to invite him. His move came soon after Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the U.S., delivered a disgraceful rebuke of Netanyahu in a lengthy speech on the Senate floor. Schumer said in the speech that Netanyahu had “lost his way” amid the Israeli military campaign in Gaza. Even so, Schumer had said he would join in the invitation because “our relationship with Israel is ironclad and transcends any one prime minister or president.” (AP)
Four Russian ships, including a nuclear-powered submarine, will arrive in Havana next week, Cuban officials said Thursday, citing “historically friendly relations” between both nations and as tensions escalate over Western military support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. Cuba’s foreign ministry said in a news release that the ships will be in Havana between June 12 and June 17, noting that none of them will carry any nuclear weapons and assuring their presence “does not represent a threat to the region.” The announcement came a day after U.S. officials said that Washington had been tracking Russian warships and aircraft that were expected to arrive in the Caribbean for a military exercise. They said the exercise would be part of a broader Russian response to the U.S. support for Ukraine. The officials said that the Russian military presence was notable but not concerning. However, it’s taking place as Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that Moscow could take “asymmetrical steps” elsewhere in the world in response to President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-provided weapons to strike inside Russia to protect Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Cuba’s Foreign Ministry said that the four Russian ships are the frigate “Gorshkov,” the nuclear-powered submarine “Kazan,” the fleet oil tanker “Pashin” and the salvage tug “Nikolai Chiker.” During the fleet’s arrival at the port of Havana, 21 salvos will be fired from one of the ships as a salute to the nation, which will be reciprocated by an artillery battery of Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces, the foreign ministry said. (AP)
In this episode, Rabbi Reinman describes Ur Kasdim, the city in which Abraham grew up, and follows him on his journey to Harran.
Deep in antiquity, the Imperial Quadrant was in the process of emerging in the region of the world known as the Middle East. Villages and towns formed small states for economic cooperation and common defense. Governments in these ministates collected taxes, built irrigation systems and promoted local industries such as textiles, metalwork, pottery and construction projects. They also built walled central cities to serve as administrative centers and places of refuge in case of war. The heads of the governments of the city-states ruled as hereditary kings.
Eventually, one of the city-states among a group emerged as the most powerful among them and organized the rest of the city-states into a single empire under its own leadership. The king of that city-state became the emperor. Empires arose in the fertile Nile valley of Egypt and in Mesopotamia in the land between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. The Egyptian empire was fairly stable for thousands of years, but the Mesopotamian empires were constantly in flux. Imperial power passed from Sumerians to Akkadian to Babylonians to Assyrians to Persians.
The important Sumerian city of Ur, where Abraham grew up, was a port on the Persian Gulf and a center of industry and commerce. It was also the site of the greatest pagan temple in the Sumerian empire, known as the Ziggurat of Ur. The Ziggurat was a huge rectangular pyramid made of mud bricks with a flat top. A staircase led to the terrace atop the pyramid and to a smaller pyramid that sat there. Another staircase led to a higher terrace on which there stood the temple to the pagan god. The structure was two hundred feet by one hundred and fifty feet at the base and rose to a height of one hundred feet, a ten-story building…
Read more at rabbireinman.com.
Shiur from Rav Chaim Chaim Katz on Bava Metziah 99:
On Thursday, President Biden stated that he has “known” Vladimir Putin “for over 40 years,” despite the fact that Russia’s leader was an undercover KGB officer throughout the entire 1980s.
“I’ve known him for over 40 years. He’s concerned me for 40 years. He’s not a decent man,” Biden, 81, said to ABC News anchor David Muir during an interview in France at the Normandy American Cemetery, commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Putin served in the Soviet Union’s spy agency from 1975 to 1991, working in St. Petersburg and East Germany before retiring as a lieutenant colonel. This timeline makes it improbable that Biden was aware of him as early as he claimed.
After his KGB tenure, Putin became an aide and later deputy mayor to St. Petersburg’s mayor Anatoly Sobchak from 1991 to 1996. He then held positions in the Kremlin and led the Federal Security Service, the KGB’s successor after the USSR’s 1991 dissolution, as reported by the Guardian.
“Until he was handpicked in August [1999] by then-President Boris Yeltsin to become prime minister, Putin had never been a public figure,” the Washington Post noted in January 2000.
Biden did meet Putin when Biden was vice president and Putin was Russia’s prime minister, and they spoke again at a Geneva summit in June 2021.
In his Thursday interview, Biden clarified that his authorization for Ukraine to use US weapons was limited to strikes within the Russian-occupied Kharkiv region.
“They’re authorized to be used in proximity to the border when they’re being used on the other side of the border to attack specific targets in Ukraine,” Biden said. “We’re not authorizing strikes 200 miles into Russia and we’re not authorizing strikes on Moscow, on the Kremlin.”
On Wednesday, Putin claimed that the US weapon supplies to Ukraine and their authorized use constituted “direct participation in the war against the Russian Federation.” He warned that the Kremlin would “reserve the right to act in a similar way,” hinting at Russia’s nuclear capabilities.
“He’s a dictator, and he’s struggling to make sure he holds his country together while still keeping this assault going,” Biden told Muir on Thursday. “We’re not talking about giving them weapons to strike Moscow, to strike the Kremlin, to strike against — just across the border, where they’re receiving significant fire from conventional weapons used by the Russians to go into Ukraine to kill Ukrainians.”
In remarks earlier on Thursday, Biden stated that “tyrants” are posing a greater threat to the trans-Atlantic NATO alliance “more at risk now than at any point since World War II,” but he assured that the US and Europe “will not bow down.”
“We cannot surrender to the bullies, it is simply unthinkable. If we do, freedom will be subjugated, all Europe will be threatened,” he said.
{Matzav.com}
IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari revealed the identities of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists killed in an IAF airstrike on a UNRWA school in Nuseirat last night. “Overnight, the IDF conducted a precise, intelligence-based strike targeting dozens of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists hiding inside a UN school in Gaza,” Hagari said. “Some of these terrorists participated in the Hamas Massacre of October 7th. I will soon reveal the identities of some of the terrorists we eliminated.” Hagari explained that the terrorists were operating from inside the school, planning and conducting attacks from classrooms. “Our precise strike was based on concrete intelligence, from multiple sources. The terrorists inside this school were planning more attacks against Israelis, some of them imminent. We stopped a ticking time-bomb. This is what it was,” he declared. The IDF spokesman presented a graphic showing the faces and names of the eliminated terrorists, including members of the ‘Nukhba’ force with blood on their hands. “Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists… These are only a few of the terrorists we eliminated. There are more. Some of them took part in the brutal massacre of October 7th. We are working to verify the information before we will share it.” Hagari noted that this was the fifth time the IDF had to target terrorists operating from inside UNRWA facilities in the last month alone. “Hamas wages war from schools and hospitals. Hamas hopes that international law and public sympathy will provide a shield for their military activities, which is why they systematically operate from schools, U.N. facilities, hospitals, and mosques.” The IDF spokesman criticized some media outlets for falling for Hamas’ tactics and spreading misinformation before verifying the facts. “While Hamas abuses international law, the IDF will continue operating according to international law. The systematic abuse of U.N. facilities is a war crime and it must be stopped by the world.” Hagari concluded, “We will continue to do everything in our power to bring our hostages back home and defeat Hamas. As we fulfill this mission, we will continue exposing the true face of Hamas to the world. Thank you.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
As young soldiers, they waded through breaking waves and gunfire to battle the Nazis. Now bent with age, the dwindling number of World War II veterans joined a new generation of leaders on Thursday to honor the dead, the living and the fight for democracy on the shores where they landed 80 years ago on D-Day. The war in Ukraine shadowed the ceremonies in Normandy, a grim modern-day example of lives and cities that are again suffering through war in Europe. Ukraine’s president was greeted with a standing ovation and cheers. Russia, a crucial World War II ally whose full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbor in 2022 set Europe on a new path of war, was not invited. The commemorations for the more than 4,400 Allied dead on D-Day and many tens of thousands more, including French civilians, killed in the ensuing Battle of Normandy were tinged with fear that World War II lessons are fading. “There are things worth fighting for,” said Walter Stitt, who fought in tanks and turns 100 in July, as he visited Omaha Beach this week. “Although I wish there was another way to do it than to try to kill each other.” “We’ll learn one of these days, but I won’t be around for that,” he said. U.S. President Joe Biden directly linked Ukraine’s fight for its young democracy to the battle to defeat Nazi Germany. “To surrender to bullies, to bow down to dictators is simply unthinkable,” Biden said. “If we were to do that, it means we’d be forgetting what happened here on these hallowed beaches.” As now-centenarian veterans revisited old memories and fallen comrades buried in Normandy graves, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s presence at the international D-Day commemoration fused World War II’s awful past with the fraught present. The dead and wounded on both sides in Ukraine are estimated in the hundreds of thousands. Despite Russia’s absence, French President Emmanuel Macron paid homage to those who fought on the eastern front “and the resolute commitment of the Red Army and all the people who were part of the then-Soviet Union.” But it was the landing on June 6, 1944, and the battles in Normandy that followed that ultimately drove the Nazis from France. “You came here because the free world needed each and every one of you, and you answered the call,” Macron said. “You came here to make France a free nation. You’re back here today at home, if I may say.” The French president awarded the Legion of Honor to 14 U.S. veterans and a British female veteran. Among the Americans was Edward Berthold, a pilot who carried out his three missions over France in May 1944, before taking part in an operation in Saint-Lo, in Normandy, on D-Day. He flew 35 combat missions in all during World War II. Berthold later read aloud a letter he’d written home the next day, showing that even as a young man he was aware of D-Day’s importance. “Wednesday night, June 7th, 1944. Dear Mom, just a few lines to tell you we are all ok. We flew mission number 10 on D-Day,” he wrote. “It certainly was a terrific show, what we could see. This is what everyone has been waiting for.” Macron also bestowed the Legion of Honor on 103-year-old […]
President Joe Biden declared on Thursday that he will not consider pardoning his son, Hunter Biden, if he is convicted in his upcoming federal criminal trials.
In an interview with ABC News anchor David Muir, the 81-year-old president stated that he would respect the outcome of Hunter’s trial regarding gun charges in Delaware. He emphasized that he would not use his clemency powers to overturn a conviction. When asked by Muir, Biden simply replied, “Yes,” confirming his stance.
Previously, Biden’s spokespersons had made it clear that the president would not pardon his 54-year-old son. This statement followed Hunter’s rejection of a plea deal that offered probation last July. The deal fell apart over Hunter’s demand for broad immunity for past actions, including alleged breaches of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which might also involve his father.
Historically, presidents often issue their most contentious pardons towards the end of their terms, suggesting Biden has time to reconsider his position. For instance, despite initial claims by Trump White House aides that Jared Kushner’s father, Charles Kushner, would not receive a pardon, he was eventually granted one.
Hunter Biden faces two significant legal challenges. Besides the Delaware gun charge, he is also slated to stand trial in Los Angeles starting September 5th. This trial involves accusations of failing to pay over $1.4 million in federal taxes between 2016 and 2019, income linked to his foreign engagements, where his father was reportedly involved.
{Matzav.com}
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has rejected the Biden administration’s ceasefire proposal, vowing that the terrorist organization will not surrender its weapons or sign a proposal that asks for that. The bloodthirst terrorist leader further stated that the only ceasefire Hamas would accept is a permanent one that ends Israel’s military operations in Gaza for good. The rejection comes despite a joint statement from the leaders of 17 nations, including the United States, calling on Hamas to accept the ceasefire deal outlined by President Joe Biden last week and to release the hostages. The statement reads, “As leaders of countries deeply concerned for the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, including many of our own citizens, we fully support the movement towards a ceasefire and hostage release deal now on the table and as outlined by President Biden on May 31, 2024. There is no time to lose. We call on Hamas to close this agreement, that Israel is ready to move forward with, and begin the process of releasing our citizens.” The proposed ceasefire deal includes three phases, with the first phase lasting six weeks and including a full and complete ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas of Gaza, and release of some hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Phase two would see the release of all remaining living hostages, and phase three would encompass a major reconstruction plan for Gaza and the repatriation of the remains of deceased hostages to their families. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
At 3:30 p.m. in Newark, N.J., United Airlines flight 84 is scheduled to depart from terminal C, gate 138 at Newark Liberty International Airport on Thursday. It is slated to arrive on Friday in Tel Aviv at Ben-Gurion International Airport at 8:55 a.m. local time.
The flight is scheduled to be the United’s “second return to Israel since the war broke out in October,” per The Points Guy. “United returned to the market briefly earlier this year, but it stopped flights again after an escalation between Israel and Iran in April.”
“The airline’s flight 84 and flight 85—the early-afternoon departure from Newark and the day flight from Tel Aviv—are the first to resume on Thursday,” the site added. “The carrier is then scheduled to add Flight 90 and Flight 91—the evening departure from Newark and the red-eye flight from Tel Aviv—on Thursday, June 20.”
The airline aims to relaunch flights to Israel from Chicago, San Fransisco and Washington, D.C., in late October, according to the site.
Following an “extensive security risk assessment,” Delta plans to resume daily, nonstop flights from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport on Friday.
The route, which was suspended in October, ” will provide customers with nearly 2,000 weekly seats from New York to Israel,” Delta said.
{Matzav.com}
Tornado-spawning storms tearing across the eastern U.S. killed a toddler in a Detroit suburb and injured at least five in Maryland on Wednesday and left another eight people hurt in Ohio early Thursday. A suspected tornado ripped away a gas station canopy and heavily damaged a restaurant and a discount store early Thursday in the eastern Ohio village of Frazeysburg. Eight people suffered minor injuries, mostly from flying debris, said Jeff Jadwin, the emergency management director in Muskingum County. The storm’s path followed the village’s main street, leaving a trail of uprooted trees and damaged homes from one end to the other, he said. He estimated that at least 100 homes were hit, several of which were destroyed. The village of 1,500 people is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Columbus. Officials in Livonia, Michigan, said the tornado tore through several neighborhoods on Wednesday afternoon and developed so quickly that there was no advance notice from the National Weather Service or others that would have normally led to the activation of warning sirens. The storm uprooted a massive tree that fell on one family’s house and came through the roof, landing on a bed where a woman and her 2-year-old were sleeping, officials said in a post on the city’s website. Crews worked for nearly an hour to remove the roof and parts of the tree and then lift the tree to get the victims out. The toddler was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. The mother was transported to a local hospital in critical condition. A 2-week-old sibling who was in a crib in a separate room was not injured but taken to a hospital for an evaluation, Livonia Fire Department Chief Robert Jennison told WDIV-TV. “This is a terrible tragedy for our community,” Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan said in the statement. “Our hearts are broken, too, and we send our deepest sympathies.” The weather service in Detroit confirmed on the social platform X that an EF1 tornado with a peak wind speed of 95 mph (153 kph) moved through Livonia. The agency said the twister traveled a path spanning over 5 miles (8 kilometers), uprooting trees and damaging some homes. A representative from the weather service called it a spin-up storm that didn’t show up on their radars in enough time to issue a warning, according to city officials. By late morning Thursday, 14,000 customers lacked power in southeastern Michigan, DTE Energy said. It has been a grim spring for tornadoes in the U.S., where severe weather killed at least 24 people during the Memorial Day holiday weekend alone. April had the second-highest number of tornadoes on record in the country. The storms come as climate change contributes in general to the severity of storms around the world. Tornado warnings were issued for parts of several other states on Wednesday night, including Ohio, New Jersey and Delaware. In New Hampshire’s Seacoast area, storms took down trees and caused power outages. In suburban Maryland, emergency workers responded to reports that people were trapped inside collapsed structures after a tornado hit Wednesday night, felling trees, damaging buildings and downing power lines. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Pete Piringer said the most significant damage occurred when a large tree fell on a house in Gaithersburg, injuring five […]
After eight months of war, about half of Hamas’s forces are dead compared to about 300 IDF troops who lost their lives, Reuters reported on Thursday. According to US estimates, the terror group had about 20,000-25,000 terrorists before October 7th and now has between 9,000 and 12,000 terrorists. The terror group has changed its tactics and instead of engaging in outright confrontations with IDF forces in Gaza, is relying on ambushes and improvised bombs. Gazan resident Wissam Ibraham told Reuters: “In earlier months, Hamas fighters would intercept, engage and fire at Israeli troops as soon as they pushed into their territory. But now, there is a notable shift in their mode of operations, they wait for them to deploy and then they start their ambushes and attacks.” The US officials said that the new Hamas tactics could sustain a Hamas insurgency for months, confirming what Israel’s National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said last week – that the war in Gaza will last for at least another seven months. Peter Lerner, an IDF spokesperson, acknowledged to Reuters that the IDF can’t eliminate every Hamas terrorist or destroy every Hamas tunnel. “There is never a goal to kill each and every last terrorist on the ground. That’s not a realistic goal. Destroying Hamas as a governing authority is an achievable and attainable military objective,” he added. A Biden administration official said that Hamas has shown the ability to withdraw rapidly after attacks, take cover, regroup, and pop up again in areas that Israel already cleared. Lerner agreed that Israel faced a protracted battle to defeat Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2006. “There is no quick fix after 17 years of them building their capabilities,” he said. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday reversed a ban on e-cigarette products made by Juul Labs, the company widely identified as making the product that ignited the youth vaping use.
The decision will not immediately affect consumers – Juul products have remained on store shelves as the company appealed the FDA’s initial June 2022 decision to banish the products. The FDA said Thursday the move to rescind the ban was made in light of court cases involving the vaping industry and because the agency has since “gained more experience” with scientific issues involving e-cigarette products.
The agency stressed that the move was not an approval of Juul’s requests to market products but instead returns those applications to the status of pending review.
The company said in a statement it remains confident that a “full review of the science and evidence” will show its products are safe for the public. “We appreciate the FDA’s decision and now look forward to re-engaging with the agency on a science- and evidence-based process,” the company said.
The FDA ordered Juul products off shelves after saying it had worries about the e-cigarette device and pre-filled cartridges in menthol and tobacco flavors. Regulators said they had concerns about “insufficient and conflicting data” about damage to DNA and potentially harmful chemicals leaching from the company’s cartridges.
E-cigarettes emerged as a major public health concern during the past decade. Juul’s popularity skyrocketed after it introduced a sleek vaping device with fruity flavors in 2015. The company’s marketing spurred the growth of the vaping industry while prompting backlash from parents and health officials who blamed Juul for a surge in teenage vaping.
More recently, illegal disposable vapes from China have flooded the market. The FDA has denied hundreds of marketing applications from other companies as legal battles rage. So far, the agency has approved only 23 e-cigarette products.
(c) Washington Post
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